Cerebral palsy (CP) - causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, pathology

it's pretty well established that your brain's really important it's like if your body was a computer your brain's the main frame it controls everything whether you're aware of it or not cerebral paly means brain condition causing paralysis so essentially cerebral paly refers to damage to the brain that causes loss of muscle control like for example if the cerebellum was damaged patients might have issues with fine motor skills like writing or typing that being said though cerebral pulsy is a broad umbrella term to basically cover a wide variety of issues since ultimately the muscle affected and

severity depends on which part of the main frame's been affected right cerebral paly is considered a neurodevelopmental condition meaning that something happens to an area of the brain during its initial development which is an extremely sensitive period if that area doesn't develop right then it can't carry out whatever function it's supposed to control but what's this vague something that can happen though well it's something because there's a wide variety of causes the majority of cerebral paly cases are thought to happen before birth or prenatally which typically means the underlying cause is really hard to pin

down exposure to radiation or infection during fetal development can cause cerebral palsy hypoxia to the developing fetus has been linked as well in this case the developing brain doesn't get enough oxygen potentially from problems like the placenta not being able to supply oxygen and nutrients cerebral palsy doesn't have to happen prenatally though and some postnatal causes are things like head trauma or again an infection or a period of oxygen deprivation although most cases are likely due to some trauma or injury a very small proportion of cases are due to a genetic mutation even though the

brain damage or injury or abnormality is permanent one super important point to remember about cerebral py is that it doesn't get worse over time and for that reason it's considered a nonprogressive condition cerebral paly is classified by the type of muscle movements that result from the brain injury and how that affects what activities the patient can perform the first type is called cerebral palsy which accounts for about 70% of cases and this is characterized by having really tight or stiff muscles which can make patients movements seem jerky this tightness results from Aion in an upper

motor neuron so with Aion which just means some kind of abnormality the ability of some of these neurons to receive Gaba might be impaired and Gaba is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter so if nerve impulses can't be inhibited which is a double negative then those nerves are basically OV excited leading to hypertonia which is an abnormal increase in the muscle activity basically like if the muscles were constantly Contracting this is why some people with cerebral paly have a scissor gate think about how hard it' be to walk when your adductor muscles were always partly contracted which

causes your knees and thighs to constantly touch similarly sometimes patients have a toe walk because their calf muscles are always contracted which pulls the Achilles tendon up and causes someone to go up on their toes a second type of cerebral palsy is aoid or dis kinetic cerebral paly and this one involves damage or injury to the basil ganglia the basil ganglia is this structure here which essentially helps us to initiate and prevent certain movements if the basil ganglia becomes damaged patients can lose the ability to prevent movements and therefore they can have involuntary movements meaning

out of their control so dis kinetic cerebral paly is characterized by distonia and or Chia distonia is random slow and uncontrolled movements in the limbs and trunk Coria is random dance-like movements since the small uncontrolled movements seem to move from muscle to muscle finally there's axic cerebral paly taxis refers to an order or Arrangement so axic essentially means without order which is in reference to patients with this type being shaky or uncoordinated and this is caused by damage to the cerebellum which helps with coordination and fine or precise muscle movements these patients often have clumsy

or unstable movements and poor balance when doing things like walking or picking something up although different from Patient to Patient many patients with muscle control issues have other symptoms as well patients often experience pain from tighten muscles or abnormal posture and stiff joints also abnormal movements might make it difficult to sleep at night and patients can develop Sleep Disorders eating can become difficult as well which can range from the preparation of food to the action of chewing and swallowing food other brain related issues are also Associated like difficulties with speaking and communication vision problems and

learning disabilities diagnosis of cerebral paly is typically done clinically however in some cases additional lab work can be done to rule out other conditions that present similarly such as thyroid disorders or inherited metabolic conditions Imaging tests like a brain or spine MRI or CT scan can also support the diagnosis of cerebral paly or rule out other central nervous system lesions since cerebral palsy involves a permanent abnormality to the brain structure it's not curable but that doesn't mean it's not treatable treatment for cerebral paly usually involves a multidisciplinary approach pulling from a number of clinical iCal

Specialties like neurologists Rehabilitation Specialists occupational therapists speech therapists and others hopefully to find a unique approach for each patient ultimately improving their quality of life Physical Therapy can be used to build strength and improve walking ability along with stretching to reduce contracture which is a permanent shortening of muscle tissue from being hypertonic or contracted for so long sometimes muscle relaxants are given or botulinum is injected into certain muscles to relax them which can both help reduce pain associated with hyp tonis and also help fit patients with specific orthotic braces sometimes surgery might also be performed

to help with a variety of issues like loosening tight muscles straightening out bones that have been subject to abnormal muscle forces over time and cutting certain nerves to reduce their Associated movements or spasms all right it's a quick recap cerebral paly is when Central Cal nervous system structures like the brain or cerebellum are damaged and this affects motor function causing palsy even though the damage is permanent the condition doesn't get worse over time so it's considered a non-progressive disorder there are three types of cerebral paly cerebral paly which is the most common aoid or dis

kinetic cerebral paly and axic cerebral paly all of which are typically diagnosed based on the clinical picture treatment for cerebral py usually involves a multidisciplinary approach and the team can comprise of neurologists Rehabilitation Specialists occupational therapists speech therapists and others who work together to ultimately improve the quality of life helping current and future clinicians Focus learn retain and Thrive learn more